A Mission's Worth
by Anime-05
Summary: Chris is back, fresh from the future, and has just lost Bianca. His fragile mind can't take it anymore and it all goes downhill, and uphill, from there. Warnings and notes inside. Chriscentric. RR please.
1. He's Back

**A Mission's Worth**

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Standard Disclaimers apply.

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Legend/Key

_blah blah _... thoughts

"blah blah" ... dialogue

"**_blah blah_**" ... action during speech

**blah blah **/ "**blah blah**" ... emphasis

**blah blah **... sound/action outside of dialogue

**#FLASH#**

blah blah ... a flashback

**#BACK#**

((Pssst...)) ... I'm talking to you..

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__

_**Warning**_

This fic is rated T for dark themes (i.e. death, suicide, self-mutilation, torture, etc.) You know, the dark and angsty stuff. Now some of the listed things behind that 'i.e.' will not be in this fic, but others will. Just a warning.

Oh, and let it be noted that this is my first Charmed fic, so please try and distinguish between constructive criticism and flaming, or just being mean. Also, this fic does contain canon events, but does not follow the show exactly. So let's mark it AU and maybe TWT, just to be safe.

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Rulings: You have "Prince Charmed" occur and Piper kicks Chris out. Leo never said he trusted Chris. "Chris-Crossed" happened right afterwards, so life sucks right now for Chris, okay?

Now on with the fic.

_Edited: I broke up some paragraphs, as per the comments in the reviews. (July 3, 2005)_

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**  
A Mission's Worth: Chapter One: He's Back **

Phoebe jumped as the portal she had seen open once before, opened again. The triqueta glowed a brilliant blue and the sound of a man's shout and a heavy **THUD **were heard next. And there, in a motionless heap on the floor, lay their former Whitelighter, Chris. He had been gone for a while, as in a few hours, and the others had left. A demon had flamed in and went after Wyatt. He got away when he saw Paige in the doorway. So they now had something else to deal with. Phoebe was put on Book of Shadows duty. The short-haired woman approached the young man cautiously, but not because she thought he'd try something. No, the way he was just lying there in a heap was bothersome. He wasn't moving at all and she couldn't tell if he was breathing from here.

It worried her.

She didn't call for her sisters because she knew Piper was still highly pissed off about the whole Order thing and the newly found fact that Chris was part witch…just like Paige…only angered her more. She and Leo were on the same page in that respect. Neither would want to see the boy right now, no matter how bad his condition was. Paige was a tad undecided. She had confided in Phoebe that she didn't know what to think. She actually **liked **the fact that Chris was a half-Whitelighter, half-witch like her. She said it made her feel like she had a connection with him now, something they could have talked about together. Phoebe sort of agreed, as she didn't appreciate him not just saying so in the first place. After all, it would have been a great point to work on, something that they could have used to get Chris to open up.

"Chris," she called out softly. Nothing happened; Chris remained still. Downstairs, her sisters and Leo were trying to solve a new problem, on top of the previous one...ones. A violent storm was brewing over San Francisco all of a sudden and the situation reeked of magic. It had been sunny and cloudless only minutes before.

"Chris?" He didn't answer her and she moved closer, kneeling by his side. A silent sigh of relief was expelled as she was able to notice the rise and fall of his chest. Thinking him to be unconscious, she rolled him onto his back. She fell on her bottom as she gasped in surprise. _His eyes…_ Phoebe had always liked Chris' eyes; they were very nice to look at. She adored his eyes, as they could be sage green at one point, tiger jade at another point, ocean green at some times, and then turn around and be a startling emerald at others. But now…now those beautiful green eyes were pale and opaque-looking. He started to spasm suddenly and Phoebe jumped again, barely stifling a startled yelp.

"Chris?" she squeaked out. He kept convulsing on the floor, eyes rolling back. _Alright, that's it,_ she thought to herself. She couldn't fix this alone. "Piper, Paige, Leo! Get up here, **now**!" Blue-white lights and soft chiming signaled that someone had orbed in. She knew it was them.

"Phoebe, what is it sweetie? We were still—"

Dead silence.

Phoebe wasn't sure if it was shock or something else, but Piper had stopped mid-sentence. She didn't have to turn around to know that all three had to be gaping at the still-convulsing half-breed. The storm outside continued to brew, clouds becoming darker.

Paige was the first one to attempt speech. "Wh-what happened to him!" Whatever she had been feeling about Chris before he had left was thrown out of the window as she kneeled by him. He stilled again, eyes still rolled back.

Phoebe shook her head, deciding that waiting on Piper and Leo to say something wasn't the safest thing to do. "I don't know. I was going through the Book of Shadows, you know, looking for that demon person that came after Wyatt earlier and then the wall started to glow and – low and behold – there was Chris…"

Paige looked at her sister suspiciously. "But…?"

"He wasn't moving. I mean, he really just sort of laid there for a while. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing. So I went over and found that he was still breathing." She paused, recalling how the next moment had startled her so badly. "Well, I had thought he was just unconscious or something, so I rolled him over."

"And?" Piper seemed to be trying to keep her cool, though she and Leo were eyeing the boy suspiciously.

"**And** his eyes were all pale and clouded. Then he started, like, spasming on the floor and his eyes rolled back." She looked at Chris again, wondering if he would start convulsing again.

Paige felt his forehead carefully, just in case he started convulsing again. "Well, he's real close to burning up… Maybe he's sick?" she suggested with a shrug.

"Or maybe he's faking it," Leo said. Piper scrutinized Chris' motionless form, looking like she could buy that.

_Can't they give this kid a break for the moment? _"What could he benefit from faking it Leo?"

Leo looked to his sister-in-law. _Former sister-in-law_, he bitterly reminded himself. "Pity," he started simply. "He could capitalize on our pity or sympathy for his condition and use that to get us to forget about all the crap he had pulled."

Paige gestured to the prone form of the accused and said dryly, "Oh yeah, this looks like a scam to me."

Leo sighed, seeing where Phoebe and Paige were coming from. "I understand your affection for him," _Though I really don't,_ he threw in mentally, "but you have to admit that he's been lying and scheming over something since the very beginning."

Phoebe sighed in return. "But I **thought **that we had all agreed that Chris really did come to save Wyatt. Don't tell me that you've changed your mind and think he's evil again." Phoebe almost groaned when Leo didn't answer. "Leo…"

"You said to not tell you."

"You honestly think he's evil?"

"Maybe not evil," he would give the boy that much. "But definitely up to something- his own agenda/vendetta, whatever it may be."

"And you believe this too Piper?"

Piper was busy trying to kill the sharp note of discomfort she felt at seeing Chris in this state. She didn't understand why, but seeing him so…badly off bothered her. Some part of her wanted to cradle his head on her lap or hold him and keep him there until those beautiful green eyes opened to look at her. She ruled that as her motherly side trying to take over. Chris had been through some things, obviously, but he was still just a kid in her eyes. Maybe something about him just appealed to her motherly instincts. Said instincts said that there was a mother out there wondering where her baby had gone off to. _Well lady, whoever you are, your baby boy is right here, bothering the hell out of us. _

She wouldn't try to sway her sisters, their eyes told her all she needed to know. Until Chris was better and back to his normal, neurotic, _Bossy, pushy, overbearing, lying, crafty…_ self again, they were basically going to ignore his past transgressions against them all. But…then again, what if Leo was right? Some part of her, mean she called it, asked her nastily, _Are you sure you're not just trying to be good to him? Convince him to stay still? You still love him, any idiot can see that? Are you sure you aren't using this whole 'Chris' thing to get Leo back? To keep him here? _Piper didn't answer those questions, claiming self-incrimination to her own mind. "Yes." Her sisters looked disappointed, but Leo sure did seem pleased.

All attention fell on Paige as she had just yelped in surprise. "Chris!"

The six-footer, eyes now closed, was stirring, groaning in what sounded like pain. Green eyes looked around, obviously disoriented, and probably not taking everything in. He looked confused and his lost look won over Phoebe instantly. Paige scooted away as Phoebe unknowingly did just what Piper's motherly instincts had told her to- she gently rearranged Chris so that his head was on her lap. "Hey there," she said softly. Paige gave him a wave, and a small, awkward smile, but he still wasn't completely there. Leo orbed out, saying he would keep an eye on Wyatt. Piper said nothing, silently trying to figure out why seeing Phoebe cradle Chris that way bothered her.

Chris turned his head away from Paige slowly, looking up at Phoebe. Phoebe was happy to see brilliant emerald eyes staring back at her, but unhappily noted that he was still out of it. He might as well have been unconscious. "Chris?" she ventured. Paige looked on curiously. Their Whitelighter, as the two of them had subconsciously re-claimed him as their Whitelighter again, frowned at Phoebe, and appeared highly confused. The first thing out of his mouth made them all gasp in shock. Paige gaped, Piper was stifling the slight unidentifiable pain in her heart, and Phoebe was just plain shocked. What did he say, you ask? His first words, word really, as it was just one thing, was more of a question. A request for identification.

"Mom?"

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Hah! There you go. A little, bitsy chapter/tease for you. So what do you think? Is it okay for a first try or should I quit while I'm ahead?


	2. Mom?

**A Mission's Worth**

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Standard Disclaimers apply.

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Author's Notes:

You like it! You really, really like it! **cries in happiness**

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Legend/Key

_blah blah _... thoughts

"blah blah" ... dialogue

"**_blah blah_**" ... action during speech

**blah blah **/ "**blah blah**" ... emphasis

**blah blah **... sound/action outside of dialogue

**#FLASH#**

blah blah ... a flashback

**#BACK#**

((Pssst...)) ... I'm talking to you..

* * *

All warnings and notes about the timeline and content, blah blah blah, were handed out in the first chapter. So if you read something offensive, the warning for it is probably in the first chapter underneath that nifty little heading of: **_Warning_**. Just a thought.

Now on with the fic.

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**A Mission's Worth: Chapter One: Mom? **

#FLASH#

"Hello Wyatt."

Oh how he loathed the man before him now. _No, I don't hate him_, he told himself, _I just need to get him back. Things can be how they are supposed to be, I just need to make him see…_

"They are no threat to me."

This was his brother and the last thing he wanted was to see him dead, but damn it, if he couldn't stop him from doing what he was doing then… He looked into his brother's steely eyes. _Such power in those eyes._ _If I can't save him, then I **will **stop him. _There was such potential there, so much that had yet to be fulfilled for him. But alas, his brother was too blind. He couldn't see that what he was doing was wrong, all wrong. His quest would accomplish nothing. He was going down the wrong path in life. It was so obvious. _If only you could see that_, he said mentally. _If only I could save you from yourself._

One brother walked by the other, circling him partially. "Et tú, Chris?"

Silence.

Everything after that seemed to happen so fast. Why did he have to fight? Why couldn't he just let himself be saved? But nothing in life was that easy. At least, nothing in his life. He went through so many things to get to this point, but now… Now it all seemed so hopeless. His eyes silently pleaded with his brother behind the mask he wore. _Don't do this to me brother. _

A dark-haired man grasped at his throat, apparently being strangled, as an older blond one threw him back without ever touching him. Glass shattered from the impact and a beautiful woman, an assassin actually, rushed to her love's side. "I didn't bring you here to die," she told him tearfully. Such love, such loyalty. It was such a shame that she could switch sides so easily.

It wasn't over though.

The blond man in black argued with the woman for the dark-haired one's life. _I wish I could save you brother, but now…I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, you can't be saved after all. _The blond looked about ready to finish the other man off, before searing pain struck his chest. It was the woman. She was holding him, draining him, telling the other man to hurry with whatever plan he had. He couldn't move, but all three present knew he would break free eventually. And then there would be hell to pay. Assuring the woman that he had some sort of idea, supposedly, the dark-haired man yanked off a loose floorboard and scrambled to unfold and read the paper's words.

"Power of the witches rise  
Come to me across the skies  
Return my magic, give me back  
All that was taken from the attack"

The blond witch-whitelighter flung the woman away from himself, not even glancing over to see if she would be down for a while. He did look at her though, when the dark-haired one ran over to her. His expression revealed nothing as he watched the other cry over her wood-impaled form. They exchanged a few last words before her body went limp.

"Bianca!" The man sobbed over her still body for a few seconds. Dead silence, no pun there, then reigned. The blond took on a confused expression as he beheld the worsening storm outside. Though the sky was always bleak and gray in this world, this storm was just odd. It had come out of nowhere. Who would dare practice such magic with him as the ruler here? His blue eyes flicked over to the eerily still and silent form of the dark-haired boy. No, that wasn't possible. He didn't have that kind of power, never did and never would either.

The blond's musing was disrupted as his brother made a dash for the book. Angry and pained tears in his eyes he flipped threw the pages as the blond man slowly recovered from the drain and his surprise at the recent happenings. The brewing storm blossomed and released rain and lightning, thunder clapped loudly, but nothing could be heard through the recently sound-proofed mansion-turned-museum.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme  
Heed the hope within my mind—"

A low-voltage orb nearly hit him as the dark-haired one finished the spell with,

"Send me back to where I'll find  
What I wish in place and time."

A portal opened and both men stared at each other as if time had just stopped. Chris snatched out the spell and made a run for it. Wyatt roared with what Chris believed to be anger and threw another low-voltage orb at him. This one hit home, but it was too late the boy had already made it through the portal. As the portal closed, the two brothers shared a thought. _Goodbye brother. _

**#BACK#**

((You know what? I bet you thought that those thoughts up there were from Chris' P.O.V. didn't you? Hah! It wasn't. Those were Wyatt's thoughts, go figure. Think about it people… What's that? You say I didn't fool you? pouts Aw…you're no fun…))

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Chris felt searing, white hot pain shoot from his injured shoulder to the rest of his body. He landed with a painful thud, mind reeling from what had just happened. He laid there, mind replayed Bianca's death over and over and over… _She's dead._ His mind held that thought, dissected and studied it, but without fail…reported the same thing to his broken heart and nearly-shattered mind. _She's dead. _She's dead, she's gone, and – thanks to Wyatt – she was never coming back. Not unless he succeeded with his daunting mission to save Wyatt, his older brother, from whatever evil that had turned him to the dark side here in the past. Chris felt searing, white hot pain shoot from his injured shoulder to the rest of his body. He landed with a painful thud, mind reeling from what had just happened. He laid there, mind replayed Bianca's death over and over and over… His mind held that thought, dissected and studied it, but without fail…reported the same thing to his broken heart and nearly-shattered mind. She's dead, she's gone, and – thanks to Wyatt – she was never coming back. Not unless he succeeded with his daunting mission to save Wyatt, his older brother, from whatever evil that had turned him to the dark side here in the past.

But now…now that mission had just become so much harder. It just seemed so impossible now, almost pointless. There was no one there for him in the future now; no one that was on his side anyway. Nobody left for him to use as a means to convince himself that he still had someone important to save. Now don't get him wrong, the innocents were important and everything but… What difference did it make to save a bunch of strangers that he couldn't expose himself as their hero to? Who cared if you saved the world if you're still all alone in the end? If he failed and went back, which he would have to do, all that would be waiting was…nothing. Nothing and no one would be there, but a world with an evil Wyatt that would officially be beyond saving. And Chris wasn't sure if he could take that, if he could live with that.

_Blood, blood, everywhere. On me, on her, on the wood, on the floor. Blood, blood, blood!_

He thought he had heard something, had thought someone was calling him, but no…no one was calling him. Where was he again? Here? Where was here? Where was he? What was going on? Chris' mind just couldn't take all of this right now and seemed to have vacated the premises of his head. _Blood, blood, blood. Look at all the blood! _Chris believed now that his logic, the one thing that he had clung to consistently all these years, was leaving him now. His thoughts were nothing short of disturbing and he couldn't seem to think of anything else.

It was all slipping away, just as he tried to grab it. Nothing made sense anymore and Chris' broken mind was slowly convincing him that none of that had happened. Wyatt was not evil, had never been evil, and never would be. His mind said that everything was fine, that he had done a good job and now he could relax and let go. But things, memories from the two other timelines somehow broke in. Those memories said that this horrid, awful nightmare was real.

It said that life was all about Wyatt- always had been and always would be. _Okay…I can live with that. I just don't want to be alone…_

It told him that there was nothing, no one, left to care for and love him anymore. The memories said that there had been few to none to begin with and now there really was no one left to go back to. Chris liked his broken mind's logic better. It told him that that was a lie. That all he needed was his mother's love, nothing else. His broken mind said that it didn't matter who that mother was anymore, as long as she loved him, as long as she cared for him. _Yeah… All I need is my mother's love…just this one time around…**please**… _

The memories from the two timelines said that his family didn't want him, that he was just the result of a desperate one night stand, a mistake. **_No! _**_No, I'm not. I deserve better than that! I deserve to be loved too! _

This whole mental war was breaking him down at a swift pace that alarmed him and Chris just wanted it all to go away. The pain…it all hurt so badly. _Somebody…please, make the blood all go away…_ He wondered what all the shaking was, not knowing his body was convulsing and only stopped when the war in his broken mind ceased– for now. He didn't know that his powers, heightened even more since his father was now an Elder – just in time for his possible birth –, were reacting to his distraught pain. He was unaware of the storm he was unintentionally summoning outside.

And then, suddenly, his battered soul felt comfort, warmth. Someone was holding him, and he felt their warmth, their concern for him. He craved the attention, needing that right now. He shied away from it at first, finding that he was able to feel again and it wasn't mental pain either. Physical pain registered with him and he groaned from the pain. He could still feel that emotional warmth being offered to him as he did his best to open his eyes.

A beautiful woman with short, dark hair and warm eyes, _So caring…_, looked down at him. Her voice, so soothing, said, "Hey there." _So warm… _She wouldn't hurt him right? Was this her? Was this the mother his broken mind had promised him? She looked like she cared about him, or at least was concerned about him. He turned his head, or rather it lolled to the side, to see another woman. Her hair was dyed, but she was pretty, but not as pretty as this woman he hoped was his mother now. Who was she? His broken mind whispered to him, telling him not to worry about it, that his mother would make it less confusing.

Chris turned his pounding head to look at the beautiful woman again. He was so confused, and hurting, and nothing made any sense to him right now. Nothing but this. This had to be his mother now. The woman that had waved at him, well, he looked nothing like her. And the other lady, the one standing behind the one with dyed hair. She…she seemed familiar. But his mind recoiled from her, making him want to inch back in distress. But he was too weak to move. She didn't look like she liked him very much. She was almost glaring and she just seemed so…cold… His gut said he was missing something, something very important, but he no longer cared. He had followed his gut for a while and look where it had gotten him.

Confused, lost, and feeling uncomfortably hot, Chris was just wishing that someone would fix it for him and make the bad pictures in his head stop torturing him with a life that he didn't want anymore. He looked up at the short-haired woman he had seen first. Hoping that his broken mind was right, he spoke, voice weak.

"Mom?"

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How do you like that one? Do we all see how short these chapters are going to be in this fic? We do? Good. No? Well, you'll get it eventually.

What happens next chapter? Meh, you'll see…if you read it! R/R.


	3. Mix Up

**A Mission's Worth**

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Standard Disclaimers apply.

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Wait until you see what I did in this chapter. Some of you reviewers thought I blew his cover in the first chapter. Tsk, tsk, you underestimate me.

To answer some reviews:

Chris' elemental powers are made up. I have no proof that he is capable of screwing with the weather and the elements. It's just a power that I, and some authors it seems, have granted him.

Some were confused over who Chris was addressing in the last chapter. This one, as I said, should clear it up.

There was a question about this: (quote) "But things, memories from the two other timelines somehow broke in. Those memories said that this horrid, awful nightmare was real." (unquote) The "two other timelines" bit is in reference to his own timeline (the one he originally came from) and the one he went back to (the past with Piper and company).

I'm glad that at least one person liked the P.O.V. twist of the last chapter. Thank you for the review!

THANK YOU to ALL reviewers. I love ya for the feedback!

I know the last chapter was boring, but hopefully this one will be better.

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Legend/Key

_blah blah _... thoughts

"blah blah" ... dialogue

"**_blah blah_**" ... action during speech

**blah blah **/ "**blah blah**" ... emphasis

**blah blah **... sound/action outside of dialogue

**#FLASH#**

blah blah ... a flashback

**#BACK#**

((Pssst...)) ... I'm talking to you...

* * *

All warnings and notes about the timeline and content, blah blah blah, were handed out in the first chapter. So if you read something offensive, the warning for it is probably in the first chapter underneath that nifty little heading of: **_Warning_**. Just a thought.

LOL! I just noticed that I have the last chapter saying: "**A Mission's Worth: Chapter One: Mom?**" when it should be "**A Mission's Worth: Chapter Two: Mom?**" Hah. But I don't think I'll fix it since it is, in essence, the first chapter with a scene from the show thrown in. Meh.

Now on with the fic.

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**A Mission's Worth: Chapter Three: Mix Up**

Chris' inquiry received mixed reactions. Piper felt like someone had just delivered her one of those "kidney shots" she had suffered through while pregnant with Wyatt. It confused her. Chris was ill, right? So he could be hallucinating, there was no reason that he couldn't be. Maybe her sister just resembled Chris' mother closely enough for him for get confused. Surely…surely, Phoebe couldn't really be…

Paige was gaping at him, though the six-footer didn't seem to notice. This was her nephew? Was he family? Some part of Paige hoped that he wasn't. _Not with all he went through in this timeline… _But still, it would explain a lot of his actions and his, well, 'quirks'. It made sense, him being family. The thought didn't disturb her as much as she thought it should have. Somehow it just felt natural, right – like a piece of a puzzle fitting snuggly into its right spot. No one had broken the silence yet, and Paige didn't think she'd be the one to do it either. Not this time.

Phoebe's brown eyes stared in shock at Chris' green ones. He still seemed to be waiting on an answer, a confirmation. Unfortunately, Phoebe didn't know what to say. _He's-he's sick, delirious. Maybe I just** look **like his mother. _But then again...people tend to say things they usually wouldn't say out loud when in this kind of condition. Chris was disoriented, obviously confused, and very much out of it. It stood to reason that he could, or would, blab something he would usually cover with the infuriable 'Future Consequences' shtick. Her train of thought had started off on the same track as Piper's, but seemed to be slowly merging onto Paige's tracks. She did feel a sort of connection to him, and it just felt right – thinking of him as family. Despite the fact that she was slowly warming to the idea, she had to ask, had to make sure that it wasn't just his…illness or weakness right now that was talking. Phoebe needed to know if he meant it. "Wh-what?"

Chris seemed to miss the entire problem with Phoebe being his mother, as his mind had convinced him that he was back at home now and everything was fine. More confident, his eyes cleared some, and he addressed Phoebe, instead of asking. "Mom."

Phoebe decided to go along with it, just so Chris wouldn't panic and hurt himself. "Um, yes…?" Phoebe was mentally cheering. His eyes had cleared some and that guarded, emotionless look she was used to seeing in thoseemerald eyes of his wasn't there. He was being honest, completely honest, and she could tell this time!

This seemed to make Chris very happy and Phoebe noted, with shock, that she could sense his emotions…sort of. It was weak, a diluted aftermath, but she could feel him! She said as much to her sisters, "Girls, I can sense him!" At their confused looks, she elaborated. "His emotions! I can sense them…a little." Both looked fairly shocked. She had never been able to do so before. This confused Chris, he wasn't coherent enough to grasp what was so special about that. He was an empath, she was an empath...so what was the big deal? Didn't all mothers have that sort of sixth sense about this sort of thing anyway? _I feel so tired..._ But no, he had to stay awake as long as possible. That persistent, neurotic part of him that would never go away demanded that he keep his eyes open. That way if this was all some sort of sick trick or illusion, a cruel dream or spell...he would have these few moments to add to the tiny reserve within him that held all other things that kept him going in life.

"Well…he **is** in bad shape, or sick maybe,"Paige mused. "And you said he was unconscious when you found him. You were able to sense his feelings before…with that whole Bianca leaving him almost dead thing…"

Piper asked, "Well why couldn't you feel him when he first came through?"

Phoebe started to open her mouth, but then she closed. She couldn't answer that. "I have no idea." _And he was certainly worse off when he first came through than he is now. _It didn't make sense. "Maybe because I wasn't trying to?" No one seemed to be willing to go with that theory. It was too simple, too easy an answer. And nothing, especially concerning Chris, was ever that simple.

Paige sighed. "Well now what?"

Phoebe unconsciously began to run her fingers through Chris' messy brown hair. _Mmm, I wonder if I could get him to cut this. _She pondered on that and figured he wouldn't. He was probably one of those people who were secretly vain when it came to their hair, but would never admit it aloud. She didn't notice it, her practically petting him, but her sisters did. They didn't comment. Paige thought it was cute, having now – partially – bought into this 'Phoebe is Chris' mom' thing. Piper ignored it, having given up on figuring out why this all bothered her so. _Maybe because I don't trust him?_ Yeah, she could work with that. He'd lied to them so many times before that she felt ill hearing him weave more webs of lies. That's what bothered her- the fact that he could be using her little sister for, for whatever it was he was up to. _Yeah,_ Piper thought, satisfied with that theory. "I don't know…" was all that came out verbally.

Phoebe seemed to come up with something. "Well how about we get him coherent first?" She smiled down at the weakened Whitelighter –_Whitelighter-witch_, she amended mentally – who seemed more than happy to just lay there and soak up the attention. _Hm… _His eyes were drooping, but she was happy to see that he was only sleepy and not about to lose consciousness or convulse again or anything worse than just…sleeping.

Piper conceded to that and called for her ex-husband. "Leo!"

The Elder instantly orbed to them, holding Wyatt as the baby/toddler played with a ball. Thinking the worst, he turned to look at Chris and froze. _What! _"Phoebe…what are you doing?"

"Mm?" She looked down and finally realized that she was gently combing her fingers through her could-be-son's hair. She stopped. "Oh" was all she said to that. Chris didn't want the gentle feeling to go away, but said nothing to protest it. He didn't want to upset anyone; the air was already so tense in here. It was nearly unbearable and did nothing for his mental state. And his mother, he especially didn't want to upset his mother. She had confirmed it, as far as he was concerned. This short-haired woman here was his mother, end of story. Chris figured that his mom might not want him all over her like this and got up.

Or at least…he tried to. With a pained moan, he laid back down. "Chris!" _Mom… _She sounded so worried, so concerned. He missed that feeling of someone **not **wanting him hurt. So he obeyed her wishes for him to just lie back down. _Okay, so that was a bad idea. _

Leo frowned, wondering what exactly had changed so much in the – what? – ten, twenty minutes that he had been gone. Paige looked fairly neutral, so that was no help. Piper looked like she was somewhere between pained, confused, and distrusting. That didn't help him; it just confused him. Phoebe, on the other hand, had changed somehow. She seemed to be positively **glowing**, not literally of course,and he didn't know why. And Chris, well, the boy was…was…he wasn't sure what he was, but he looked too at ease lying there with Phoebe for his comfort.

He didn't trust Chris, didn't like Chris, and doubted he ever would. He manipulated them and told them more lies than he could count. He did so many suspicious things, and kept a lot of secrets. And they weren't little, insignificant secrets that they could deal without knowing. They big secrets that would tell them a lot about the future and about Chris, but the boy constantly refused to share those secrets, hiding behind that damnable 'Future Consequences' crap. He didn't like that at all. And, of course, Leo would never forgive Chris for sending him to Valhalla. That place was the stuff of nightmares, always having to fight and kill to survive. He was an Elder, a pacifist. Valhalla was no place for any man, least of all an Elder. And Chris had sent him there just to get close to the Charmed sisters. He knew it, Chris knew it, and the girls – on some level – probably knew it. He had thought they were all on the same page and agreed that Chris just had to go. They would handle the whole 'Wyatt turns evil' situation, if that was even true, on their own.

So why did it seem like he was the only one who still distrusted the boy, except for his wife, who was steadily regaining her focus as her look of disdain – from when she had first saw that Chris was back – returned.

There was something that had changed about Chris too, but he didn't see anything obvious. Leo figured he just had another secret to hide from them, nothing new. Belatedly, he noted that the three sisters were looking at him expectantly. "…?"

"What are you just standing there for? Heal him!"

Leo's surprise at the outburst showed and Paige spoke up before Phoebe could get upset about the Elder's lack of movement. "Uh…she's a little moody right now," she explained quickly. "I think it would be best if you just healed the guy already."

Leo turned to his ex-wife, sure that she would explain this to him. He was rewarded with a reluctantly expectant look. That look told him that Piper had caved to her sisters' wishes and that a tiny part of her wanted him to just heal the poor boy already. He sighed and handed Wyatt to his mother, the little boy still fully occupied with his toy.

Kneeling beside the Whitelighter-witch, who looked wary of him, Leo put his hands over Chris' shoulder since that was the most obvious wound. A moment of dead silence passed as nothing happened. Leo wondered why he sensed someone panicking, and wondered even more why that someone was Phoebe. Then a familiar golden glow enveloped Chris' injury…injuries actually. Finished for the most part, Leo pulled back.

Phoebe smiled at her son. "Better?"

_Not really. _But he didn't say that aloud. If he told her that then shewould get upset and Chris didn't want that. And besides, he didn't want that man over there to ever get that close to him again.Any idiot could see that Leo didn't like Chris very much and thefeeling would be pretty mutual once Chris gathered what was left of hissenses and wits. "Yes, thank you."

There was another moment of silence, and Leo was the one to break it. "I'm being called by the other Elders. I have to go." He orbed out immediately. He wanted answers and explanations for all this weird behavior later.

Piper refrained from looking pained by focusing on Wyatt and the toy he was playing with. Paige rolled her eyes and said, "Well **that** was predictable."

The silent question of 'what do we do now?' hung in the air. No one seemed to have an answer until Chris attempted to get up again. He succeeded this time, covering a grimace. His throat still ached and his back was almost killing him. The physical wounds were gone, but it still hurt a bit. He gave his mother a weak smile. "So is everything okay now?"

Sure, he'd love to believe his wrecked mind when it told him all was well again, but he had a hard time believing that **everything **would just be perfect now. It was too much to ask for, too much to hope for. And hope…well… that happened to be something he just didn't have much left of. He was being paranoid perhaps, but he didn't just get that way. That characteristic became a part of him for a reason. Not a pleasant reason, mindyou, but a reason nonetheless.

Phoebe looked confused for a moment, before interpreting his question as him wanting to know if they trusted him again, if they'd let him come back to them. They had officially, as far as they were concerned anyway, dismissed Chris as their Whitelighter when he had left. Even before then actually. He had already been kicked out by Piper and Phoebe mentally winced at that memory. Him being de-titled as their Whitelighter was just some unsaid thing that had been understood when he walked through that portal. But now…she knew she couldn't do that to him now. This was her son; she was convinced of it now.

It is simply amazing how the human mind can convince one of anything. It could make you see things that weren't there, think things you knew weren't true, and even accept things that just seemed off. The power of the mind was how Chris could believe what he did, how Piper could get on in life, how Phoebe believed that Chris was her son, etc. The mind…what an incredibly powerful thing.

Phoebe smiled at her son and nodded. "Yes sweetie, everything is fine." The empath set a new goal of transforming the weak, unsure smile Chris was giving her now into a full-blown smile. She just knew he would have a wonderful smile.

Chris looked around and noted the open Book of Shadows, the potions Paige had set down when she had first seen Chris, and a paper pad that had the beginnings of a spell written on it. "Were you in the middle of something?" He felt like an inconvenience now.

The hold – it had felt like a spell or trance…but at the same time didn't – that had let the world revolve around Chris for a just a little while broke. Reality came knocking again and said 'Hey, don't you havea demon to vanquish?' Piper hugged Wyatt close to her, as if apologizing for forgetting about him for even a little while. Paige blinked and Phoebe's mouth made a small 'o' as she remembered that they indeed had been doing something. "Oh yeah…that demon that came after Wyatt."

Back on track, Paige picked up her potions, ready to get back to work. "Looks like it's back to potion-making, you know, just in case he comes to visit us before we get anything good on him." She turned to Chris and with a quick "Welcome back", she orbed out. Piper looked at the two of them and said nothing, walking out with Wyatt.

Chris felt as if he had done something wrong.

Phoebe saw his expression and could even get a weak read. _Aw…he feels like a burden. _She smiled, having picked up on how that seemed to cheer him up for some reason. She wondered how badly he had wanted to say something, to open up to her, to just be there with her without the cover story being in the way… _How badly could he have needed me, his mother, for my smile alone to be enough to lift his spirits? _As curious a person as she usually was, this time, Phoebe wasn't so sure she wanted to know this tidbit. It had 'depressing' written all over it and now wasn't the time for that. Was she not around in the future or something? Were any of them still alive? She was starting to doubt that she or her sisters were around in the future. If it was so bad in his future, something had to have happened to them. But she wouldn't question him on that now.

"Come on, you can help me search through the Book and make a spell." She didn't know why she offered him her hand; the Book was only a few feet away. It just felt right and when Chris gave her another unsure smile, this one a little brighter than before, Phoebe smiled back. This was her baby, her son, her brave little trooper that came to the past to save his cousin. Her little super-hero. Okay, so maybe he wasn't so little; the guy was six feet tall and in his twenties. _My tall super-hero then._

Suddenly everything else didn't matter. Not now anyway. Sure he was looking through the Book of Shadows for a demon that was trying to kill his cousin, but hey, he was doing this with his mom. And that made all the difference to Chris.

"Okay Mom."

* * *

Don't you love these mushy endings? I'm just kidding you know…this isn't even close to being over! Let's ruin Chris' dream in the next chapter, shall we?

Muse: **_nods_**

And ruin it we shall! R&R please.


End file.
